The Internet LEVELED BOOK • X

A Reading A–Z Level X Leveled Book

The
Word Count: 1,435

Writing
Connections
Internet
Write a persuasive paragraph explaining
your opinion of the Internet. Use information
from the book and outside resources to
support your points.
Social Studies
How did people do research before the
Internet? Create a Venn diagram comparing
how people did research in the past with
how they do it now.

Written by Ned Jensen

Visit www.readinga-z.com
for thousands of books and materials. www.readinga-z.com
 The
Index
access, 10–13 server, 12–14
Berners-Lee, Tim, software, 12

Internet
16, 21 Department
browser, 11, 12, 16, 21 of Defense, 15
cable, email, 13, 17
bandwidth, 7–9 multimedia, 8
wire, 6–8 networks,
fiber-optic, 6–8 ARPAnet, 15, 21
computer, NSFnet, 15
client, 13, 14 WiFi, 6, 8
domain name, 14 shopping, 4, 19
IP address, 14 universities, 15
language, 16 website (-s), 11–14,
modem, 10 18–20

Written by Ned Jensen

www.readinga-z.com

Focus Question
What is the Internet, and what
has it enabled people to do?

24
 Internet Service a company that sells access
Words to Know Provider (ISP) (n.) to the Internet (p . 10)
bandwidth Internet Service IP address (n.) the unique number of a server
bit Provider (ISP) or client computer (p . 14)
broadband IP address modem (n.) a device used to connect
browser modem a computer to the Internet
clients search engine (p . 10)
domain names server search a search tool used to locate
fiber-optic URL engine (n.) information on the Internet
Internet WiFi (p . 18)

Photo Credits:
server (n.) a computer that manages
Front cover (main): © iStock.com/PeopleImages; front cover, back cover the access of other computers
(background): © Toria/Shutterstock; title page: © Cindy Charles/PhotoEdit;
page 3: © iStock.com/alexsl; page 4: © iStock.com/lisafx; page 5: © iStock.com/ to a service, a local network,
nico_blue; page 6: © Don Farrall/Photodisc/Getty Images; page 8:
© Phillip Hayson/Science Source; page 10: © Erik Reis/Dreamstime.com; pages 11, or the Internet (p . 12)
12 (top left), 21 (center): © Simon Fletcher/Dreamstime.com; pages 12 (bottom
left), 21 (left): © iStock.com/SerrNovik; pages 12 (top right), 21 (right): © Aleksey URL (n.) the entire address used
Boldin/123RF; page 13: © iStock.com/AmpH; pages 15, 20 (top): © iStock.com/
FatCamera; page 16: © Elise Amendola/AP Images; page 17 (main): to access a website on the
© iStock.com/margotpics; page 17 (inset), 24: © iStock.com/DragonImages;
page 18: Louis-Paul st-onge Louis/Alamy Stock Photo; page 19: © Tetra Images/
Internet, which includes
Getty Images; page 20 (bottom): © Thinkstock/Stockbyte/Getty Images the domain name; Uniform
Resource Locator (p . 11)
WiFi (n.) a wireless network for
sending information over
the Internet (p . 6)
The Internet
Level X Leveled Book Correlation
© Learning A–Z LEVEL X
Written by Ned Jensen
Fountas & Pinnell S
All rights reserved. Reading Recovery 40
www.readinga-z.com
DRA 40

The Internet • Level X 23

 Glossary
bandwidth (n.) the maximum amount of
information that can move
on an Internet cable (p . 7)
bit (n.) the smallest amount of
information that can be stored
on a computer or sent over the
Internet (p . 9)
broadband part of or relating to a
(adj.) high-speed computer network
(p . 10)
browser (n.) a software program that allows
users to access and view pages
on the World Wide Web (p . 11) Table of Contents
clients (n.) computers used by the general Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
public to access all that the
What Is the Internet? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Internet provides (p . 13)
How Is Information Sent? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
domain text names of website addresses
names (n.) that are linked to specific IP How Does the Internet Work? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
addresses (p . 14)
How Did the Internet Begin? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
fiber-optic of or relating to a type of cable
(adj.) made from thin strands of glass How Is the Internet Used? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
or plastic that can be used to
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
carry signals (p . 6)
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Internet (n.) a global, public computer
network (p . 4) Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

22 The Internet • Level X 3

 Explore More
On the Internet
1 With an adult’s permission and assistance,
type www .google .com in the address
window of your browser .

2 Type a search term such as Internet,

Tim Berners-Lee, or ARPAnet in the search
window and click on “Google Search .”
3 Read the colored links . Click on one that
looks interesting . When you want to explore
other links, click on the “back” button on
your browser menu to return to the Google
search page .
4 Try other searches using words from
something you are studying in school, words
from your favorite activities, or even names
of your favorite animals or book characters .

Introduction
Can you imagine life without the Internet?
Well, it might be hard to believe, but just a few
decades ago the Internet did not exist . The
Internet has changed our lives and continues
to do so, perhaps more than any other invention
since the computer . The Internet has changed
the way we communicate, gather information,
shop, pay bills, and learn .

4 The Internet • Level X 21

 What Is the Internet?
Students Simply put, the Internet is awesome . It is
use websites a network that connects billions of computers
to practice
reading and and other devices around the world . Any
other skills. computer connected to the Internet can exchange
packets of information with any other computer
connected to the Internet . These connections
allow information to pass from computer to
computer at very high speeds . Information
packets sent from one computer can reach
Police officers use
another computer on the other side of the
the Internet through
computers in their world in just a few seconds .
cars to find out
information about
suspects.

Conclusion
The Internet has allowed computers all over
the world to connect to one worldwide network
for sharing information . It has changed the way
we do business, communicate, and buy goods
and services . The Internet will be even more
influential as more people around the world
connect to it from homes, schools, and businesses,
and through wireless connections . The Internet
will continue to evolve as new technologies allow A series of ones and zeros make up the information packets that computers
people to interact in new ways . send and receive.

20 The Internet • Level X 5

 Fiber-optic cables are
made to quickly carry People also shop and pay bills on the Internet .
huge amounts of You can view pictures of products you may want
information.
to buy . You can listen to music, purchase it, and
then listen to the music on your computer . You
can also purchase airline and entertainment
tickets on the Internet . Some shopping websites
let you bid on the
products you want
to purchase just
as you would
at an auction .
You can even buy
computer games
and items to use
How Is Information Sent? within their game
worlds online .
Information packets sent over the Internet
Internet shopping
include words, pictures, sound, and video . All of
has become so
this information flows through wire or fiber-optic
popular that in
cable . Wire cable is made from copper or other
2017, shoppers
metals, while fiber-optic cable is made from
around the world
bundles of very thin strands of glass or plastic .
spent more than
Internet information can also be sent wirelessly
$2 .4 trillion buying
on radio waves . This is known as WiFi . A receiver
goods and services
within a WiFi network collects the information
in this manner .
packets from radio waves . The receiver takes that
collected information and sends it through the This girl uses
headphones to
wire or fiber-optic cable that connects the receiver listen to music
to the Internet . on the Internet.

6 The Internet • Level X 19

 best hoverboards for kids
The amount of information moving over the
Internet at any given time depends on what is
called bandwidth . The bandwidth of a cable
allows information to move like cars on a
highway . The more lanes a highway has, the
more cars can travel on it . Greater bandwidth
means that more
information can
travel through a
cable . However, as
with heavy traffic
on a highway,
when the
amount of
information
Answers to nearly any question can be found traveling
by searching the Internet . But with so much through a cable
information available, how can you possibly find increases, the
what you want? speed at which it
travels decreases .
The answer is to use a search engine—a tool

fiber-optic cable
that allows you to find the information you’re

copper wire
looking for on the Internet . A search engine
searches the contents of millions of webpages at
the same time . All you have to do is go to a search
It takes two copper wires
engine website and type in one or more search to carry one phone call.
terms, or keywords . Some companies even It takes two strands of
fiber-optic cable to carry
make smart speakers that allow you to ask twenty-four thousand
your questions out loud! phone calls.

18 The Internet • Level X 7

 Fiber-optic cable has greater bandwidth than How Is the Internet Used?
wire cable and, therefore, can carry thousands People use smartphones, tablets, and
of times more information than wire cables . WiFi computers to send emails and text messages
usually has less bandwidth than wire cables but instantly to one another . They can also add
allows a user to move around freely while staying attachments, such as photos, to their messages .
connected . As we become more dependent on If someone wants to respond to a message, he
the Internet for information, bandwidth becomes or she only has to click the “reply” button and
more important . Sound, pictures, and video all then type out a message . People can also make
require more bandwidth than text . Therefore, video calls in which they can see each other
information containing multimedia content while they talk .
needs greater bandwidth to flow through the
Internet quickly .

8 The Internet • Level X 17

 Comparative File Sizes

Text 50k

Photo 500k

Music 2,500k

Video 8,500k

0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 6,000 7,000 8,000 9,000

Size in Kilobytes (K)

Bandwidth is a measure of the number of units

of information prepared and sent by computers
that can pass through the Internet per second .
The smallest unit of information is called a bit .
When eight bits are combined, they become a byte .
Tim Berners-Lee created the first web browser and the rules that allow
different devices to communicate with each other over the Internet. A single letter of text, such as the letter A, is
one byte . Compare a typical typed sheet of paper,
In the 1990s, a physicist named Tim Berners-Lee which has 2,000 bytes, with a short novel, which
changed the Internet forever . Before Berners-Lee, has one million bytes! Megabytes (1,000 kilobytes)
a network would “talk” to its many computers but and gigabytes (1,000 megabytes) are common
could not share information with other networks . measurements of computer storage capacity .
Each network spoke its own language and could
not understand other networks, like people from Answer: 1,000,000 bytes

different countries who spoke different languages . Math Minute

Berners-Lee solved this problem by writing a If a kilobyte is 1,000 bytes, how many
common language that let computers in various bytes are in a 1-megabyte photograph?
networks “talk” to each other .

16 The Internet • Level X 9

 How Does the Internet Work?
The backbone of the Internet is a permanently
connected network of powerful computers to
which other computers can connect . Individual
computers connect to the Internet through a
device called a modem, which decodes and
codes digital information as it passes to and from
your computer . You can
access the Internet by
using a modem and
logging in using
a username and
password . Internet
access is usually How Did the Internet Begin?
purchased from Most people think the Internet began in the
an Internet Service 1960s . The United States Department of Defense
Provider (ISP) for a wanted to establish a dependable network of
monthly fee . In many communication in case of a disaster or war .
rural areas, broadband The network that was created, called ARPAnet
users pay higher fees (Advanced Research Project Agency network),
for high-speed Internet linked four computers to each other . By the 1980s,
access using DSL or more than twenty thousand computers were
cable modems . Satellite linked together . Soon, universities began building
Internet service can their own networks of computers so they could
allow people to connect share information more easily . One of the
from remote locations largest networks for universities, called NSFnet
all around the world . (National Science Foundation network), came
cable modem to be called the Internet .

10 The Internet • Level X 15

 Every computer connected to the Internet,
whether a server or a client, has an IP address
(IP stands for Internet Protocol) . Each IP address
is a unique series of numbers . The numbers are
arranged in four sets with each set separated
by a dot . But since most people have a hard time
remembering a series of numbers, computers
are given domain names . For example, Kids A–Z
is a website where students can read books their
teacher has assigned . The domain name for the
Kids A–Z computer is www .kidsa-z .com .

The Internet allows people to share information, including pictures.

Once you have access, you can send

information to, and receive information from,
anyone else who is hooked up to the Internet .
Let’s say a friend tells you about a website where
you can get information about giraffes . You type
in the website URL she gave you, including the
file name, press “enter” (or “return”) on your
keyboard or click the “go” button of your browser,
and within seconds an article on giraffes appears
on your screen .

14 The Internet • Level X 11

 Here is a simple explanation of what happened .
First, a browser—special Internet software for
finding and looking at webpages—connected
your computer to a server somewhere on the
Internet . Next, the browser requested the website
information . Then, the server retrieved the
requested information and sent it back to your
computer . Once the browser found the page you
wanted, it made it possible for you to view the
page on your computer, tablet, or phone .

An information technology expert makes sure servers stay connected

to the Internet.

1 3 Let’s take a closer look . All the computers that

make up the Internet can be put into two groups:
servers and clients . Servers are computers that
provide a service, which is to give access to
information . There are different kinds of servers .
2 For example, to send or receive email, you will
connect to an email server . To request information
from a website, you will connect to a server .

The other computers on the Internet are

1 Webpage computers like yours, called clients . Client
2 Video file
3 Smartphone used to computers don’t provide a service, but they
watch Internet video file do send and receive information .

12 The Internet • Level X 13